DIY Life

To those aspiring photography professionals: are you up to snuff on bottom-lit photography? Keep an eye on that image to the right. That mirror effect and many like it require some "floor photography." The good news: no expensive equipment needed except a table with a glass top.

Your kitchen table, coffee table or even just a small sofa table will suffice for lighting that object from below to ensure you really have some of the neatest (and professional) effects from that camera shutter button press. If you have gotten into (or want to) the food photography business (glass containers, especially), having a glass tabletop, some slave flashes and smaller lights are going to be your friends. Even if you don't have a table you can use, a makeshift cardboard box with a piece of spare glass on top of is all it takes.

Basically, shooting objects using lighting from below sounds pretty easy, although getting the formula right for your particular shoot may take some work. The results, though, may come from an amateur but look wholly professional. Like the Corona image here, talk about an enticing image to pitch to a new client for a magazine layout (if that's your thing). It may take a high megapixel count to ensure you get that 300dpi, but wouldn't it be worth it?